Plant Fact Sheet intermediate. It is not well adapted to coastal plain GRAY DOGWOOD conditions. Cornus racemosa Lam. Gray dogwood is distributed throughout the Plant Symbol = CORA6 northeastern United States. For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials species on the PLANTS Website. Program Establishment Only seedlings of gray dogwood are practical. All should be planted as early in the spring as possible. When using dogwood for streambank planting, eroded or steep banks should be graded before planting. Plant in the early spring with dormant planting stock. Planting after May will severely reduce chances for success. One-year rooted cuttings or seedlings can be planted vertically into the bank with one or two inches of cutting wood protruding. They should be stuck in a hole large enough to accommodate the root system when well spread. The soil must be tamped well around the roots. Fresh, unrooted hardwood cuttings, easier to handle but less Chris Miller reliable, should be stuck vertically into the bank, USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program leaving one to two inches above ground. A dibble can be used to make a hole. Tamp adequately to provide complete contact between the cutting and the Uses soil. Cuttings may also be buried horizontally two Gray dogwood is useful as a low-growing wild hedge inches deep in damp soil, if the ground is stony. which provides summer food and some cover for Fresh hardwood cuttings, 3/8 to 1/2 inch at the thick small animals and birds. end, 9 inches long, and made while dormant, are ideal. Without cold storage, planting should be done Status as soon as possible after cutting. Plant both rooted Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State cuttings and unrooted hardwood cuttings on 2 feet Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s spacing in a diamond pattern. current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values). When using for wildlife or screening purposes, the planting site should be cultivated to destroy existing Description vegetation. If not, the sod should be removed from Cornus racemosa Lam, gray dogwood, is a thickly an area two feet across for each plant. The holes branched, slow growing dogwood seldom more than should be deep enough to allow for the full extension 6 feet high at maturity. Its flowers, which bloom in of the roots. Spacing for hedges and screens should June or July, are white and loosely clustered, and its be staggered and 2 x 2 feet, and 4 to 5 feet for white fruit, which appears in September and October, windbreaks. A small handful of fertilizer can be is set off by bright red fruit-stalks. Its leaves are placed around each plant. opposite, taper-pointed and oval. Management Adaptation Dogwoods used on streambanks are subject to Gray dogwood has a range of adaptability equaled by mechanical damage. The site should be inspected few other shrubs, and it tolerates many climatic annually for needed repairs in the spring after heavy conditions. Tolerance to shade is considered runoff or ice floes. Fill in gaps by replanting or by laying down and covering branches of nearby plants. Any mechanical measures used to control the bank, Plant Materials <http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/> Plant Fact Sheet/Guide Coordination Page <http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/intranet/pfs.html> National Plant Data Center <http://npdc.usda.gov> such as riprap, must be kept in repair to maintain effective protection. Competing vegetation should be controlled around all dogwood plants used for hedges, screens, etc. This is particularly important during the first few years after planting. Pests and Potential Problems There are currently no serious pests of gray dogwood. Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) No cultivars are available at this time, however common seedlings are available at most commercial hardwood nurseries. Prepared By & Species Coordinator: USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program Edited: 01Feb2002 JLK; 25may06jsp For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<http://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov> The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Read about Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation Service. Plant Fact Sheet Description SILKY DOGWOOD Silky dogwood is a large shrub, often 6-10 feet in height. The growth habit is upright rounded, but Cornus amomum Mill. where stems are in contact with the ground, roots are Plant Symbol = COAM2 formed. This behavior creates thickets. Young dogwoods have bright red stems in the fall, winter Contributed by: USDA NRCS Plant Materials and early spring, which turn reddish-brown in the Program summer. As the shrub matures, the stems turn reddish-brown year-round and later gray. Silky and redosier dogwood, though very similar, can be distinguished by their pith and fruit color. Silky dogwood has a brown pith in 1-2 year old stems, dark green ovate leaves, yellowish-white flowers which bloom in mid-June, and bluish colored fruit which matures in September. Redosier dogwood has a white pith, dark green ovate leaves, white flowers, and whitish colored fruit. There are approximately 12,000 seeds per pound. Adaptation and Distribution Silky dogwood is adapted from Michigan and Wisconsin to Maine and south to Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee. It has done exceptionally well in the Lake states, but poorly outside it’s natural range. It performs best in soils that are moist, somewhat poorly drained, moderately acidic to neutral, and in areas that have medium to coarse soils. It is highly tolerant of shade but not of droughty conditions. Robert H. Mohlenbrock USDA NRCS 1991. For a current distribution map, please consult the Southern Wetland Flora Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS @ USDA NRCS PLANTS Website. Alternate Names Establishment Swida amomum (P. Mill.) Small Windbreaks: The site must be prepared by reducing weed competition. If equipment can be used, plow or Uses disc the site first. If equipment cannot be used, clear The primary use of this species is for field and sod from a one foot square area and plant as soon as farmstead windbreaks and wildlife borders. It is also frost is gone in the Spring. For bare root plants, holes being used with willows for streambank protection. should be dug deep enough to accommodate the Other beneficial uses are for fish and wildlife habitat entire root system. Space plants 5-6 feet apart in a improvement, slope stabilization, borders, and as an row. If planting in a cluster, 8x10 or 10x10 foot ornamental. spacing is advisable. Status Streambank stabilization: Steep slopes must first be Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State graded. The slope should be 1:1 or flatter. Any trees Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s considered unstable should be removed. One year current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, old rooted cuttings should be used for planting. Plant state noxious status, and wetland indicator values). in early spring, preferably before May. Do not plant after June 1. Plant the cuttings two feet apart for streambank erosion control, four to six feet apart for wildlife habitat. Establishment with other species, Plant Materials <http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/> Plant Fact Sheet/Guide Coordination Page <http://plant-materials.nrcs.usda.gov/intranet/pfs.html> National Plant Data Center <http://npdc.usda.gov> such as willow and other riparian species, is a good information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact practice. On sites with banks that may become dry USDA's TARGET Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD). over the summer, utilize silky dogwood next to the water, with To file a complaint of discrimination write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten Building, 14th and willows above. Immediately after planting, grasses Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410 or call and legumes may be planted to provide initial 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity stabilization. After 2 or 3 years the dogwoods will provider and employer. become effective. Silky dogwood is vulnerable to livestock browsing. In order to ensure survival, Read about Civil Rights at the Natural Resources Convervation fencing must be incorporated into the plan. Rooted Service. hardwood cuttings are taken in January, allowed to develop callus in refrigerated storage, and planted in mid-May in well drained soil 2 inches apart. The cuttings should be 1/4-1/2 inch in diameter and 9 to 12 inches long. They should be planted with approximately 2 inches exposed above ground level. Management The planted areas should be examined each spring after the major runoff period has ended. Areas where vegetation has been destroyed must be immediately replaced with new plants. If any mechanical measures are being used to prevent erosion, they must also be maintained to prevent any more damage.